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Madrid and Barcelona dominate Spanish fibre broadband connections, with the two cities accounting for 73 percent of installations, according to figures released by Spanish telecoms regulator CMT.

The new data also shows that the two cities have the highest fixed broadband penetration — Madrid tops the list with 32.5 lines per 100 inhabitants, ahead of Barcelona with 29.85 lines per 100 inhabitants. In third place was Guipúzcoa, a province in the Basque region of Spain where San Sebastian is located, with 28.3 connections per 100 inhabitants.

The fact that Madrid and Barcelona account for nearly three-quarters of Spain’s fibre broadband installations isn’t surprising — the combined population of the two metropolitan areas totals nearly 25 percent of the country's population of 47 million.

As is the case in England, it is the rural areas where fixed broadband is struggling to make an impact. Jaen, in the south of the country, registered just 16.5 lines per 100 inhabitants and Cuenca, to the east of Madrid, has 16.7 lines per 100 inhabitants. Murcia, in the south east of the country, has 17 lines per 100 people.

The figures from CMT show that fibre broadband in Spain is booming. It says there are now nearly four million active connections across the country, up 71 pecent from 2011.

DSL dominates broadband connections in Spain, with 19.3 lines per 100 inhabitants — way ahead of cable, which accounts for 4.7 lines per 100 people.

Steve is a freelance journalist based in Madrid, specialising in technology and how it impacts businesses. His previous roles include web editor at Computer Business Review (CBR) and before that staff writer at a magazine that wrote about and sold collectable items.